Calling all outdoor grilling fanatics!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Lexee15
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
funnyyetsavvy said:
I agree Weber is great - I’m really hoping for a new grill when things get better financially. I love to grill!

Just a question though for the Forum. Isn’t charcoal cooking more hazardous to our health than the gas grilling? Carcinogen and such? I thought charcoal grilling was kind of bad for the health…Just askin’ 🙂
Click to expand...
Absolutely not! It’s good for you! Heck, I don’t know. Can’t be anyworse than driving on the freeway with my windows down. Makes me happy too. Anything that makes me that happy, can’t be that bad for me.
 
Sailor_Kenshin said:
Wonder if you can use chunks of wood in these instead of coal:

Ours was green, though…

It looked good, and was on sale, but in the end we returned it un-used because I don’t like playing with live coals.
Click to expand...
I have one of those. A decent little smoker, but “little” is the key word. You can fit a a chicken in there but not much more. You can use wood, and you can use it as a grill, but it has plated grilles and you can only fit a couple of people’s worth of food on there at a time. The grill is down below waist level too; you have to bend over.

Despite being a “realfire” Charcoal/wood adherent, I have to say there is some merit in Sailor’s advocacy of a simple gas grill for a beginner or casual user. They fire up quick and let the newbie get some experience with reasonable expectation of success.

But I have to suggest that, gas or coal, for char-grilling you want cast iron grates. Plated grilles just don’t sear properly, they just hold the food over the radiant heat instead of getting that branding-iron sear that hot iron gives you.

Get a wire brush, scrub your grates and after they cool down a bit, rub with a paper towel that has a litle veg oil on it. Don’t use detergent on them or food will stick until they get seasoned again.
 
funnyyetsavvy said:
I agree Weber is great - I’m really hoping for a new grill when things get better financially. I love to grill!🙂
Click to expand...
Try this. Go to a local land fill and see if they have any 55 gallon drums and shopping carts to get rid of.

Wash drum very well. Very well. Then cut in half. Dull the edges so you don’t get cut. Drill a few holes on each end to vent it. Cut the shoping cart into a couple of grates. One for Charcoal to set on, one for food. Just leave a couple of inches below the charcoal grate, and about 6 to 8 inches between the two grates.

Cut a 4 inch hole in the top peice for a vent/chimeny. Get a 5 inch square peice of plywood, Drill small hole in top of it, attach just above the 4 inch hole to create a swinging gate over the hole. You can put a screw in the bottom of this “gate” and tighten just a little so the screw hits the outside of the BBQ lid. This will keep it from swinging shut. You can make a stand if you want, but we just kept ours on the ground. painted it with high temp BBQ spray paint. Looked OK.

This was how we did it. Never bought a real BBQ until after I got married. Sounds redneck (kinda is), not nearly as hard as it sounds, and works fine. If anyone wants more detailed description, I’d be happy to redneckify ya.
 
PapaSquash said:
I have one of those. A decent little smoker, but “little” is the key word. You can fit a a chicken in there but not much more. You can use wood, and you can use it as a grill, but it has plated grilles and you can only fit a couple of people’s worth of food on there at a time. The grill is down below waist level too; you have to bend over.

Despite being a “realfire” Charcoal/wood adherent, I have to say there is some merit in Sailor’s advocacy of a simple gas grill for a beginner or casual user. They fire up quick and let the newbie get some experience with reasonable expectation of success.

But I have to suggest that, gas or coal, for char-grilling you want cast iron grates. Plated grilles just don’t sear properly, they just hold the food over the radiant heat instead of getting that branding-iron sear that hot iron gives you.

Get a wire brush, scrub your grates and after they cool down a bit, rub with a paper towel that has a litle veg oil on it. Don’t use detergent on them or food will stick until they get seasoned again.
Click to expand...
Yes, and make sure the burners are STAINLESS STEEL. That’s what went first on our old rig.

Use lots of oil. AFTER you heat the grill—hold the paper towel in tongs.

The new one is being used again to test a beer-can chicken. 👍
 
I own an old Weber Kettle for charcoal grilling…great inexpensive non-gas Grill.

I own a Weber “Bullet” (properly known as the “Weber 2820 Smokey Mountain Cooker Smoker”) for slow cook BBQ. It is a great charcoal fired unit and an economical purchase.

I love Webers but do not own a Weber gas grill. Nevertheless, I would highly recommend their gas grills for purchase.

I also own a no frills but excellent gas grill. This is a two burner unit made by “Cook On” from BBQ’s Galore. It has cast iron burners and cooking grates. Although not fancy, it really does a good job and represents an economical purchase for a really solid and durable gas grill.

I’ve owned a couple of inexpensive gas grills and they were junk. They did a terrible job and I had to replace the burners every year.

Spend a little more than you really want to, then cry when you write the check. You either cry now or cry later when the cheap unit disappoints you.

The “Big Green Egg” mentioned in an earlier post is “marvelous” but not cheap. Although better and more expensive than the Weber Bullet, it generally will not give better results if you know how to use the Weber.

I recently did a slow cook on a smallish beef brisket with a 9.5 hour cook time in my Weber Bullet. The finished product “rocked the house” and everyone that partook of it raved. I was a legend and hero in the house until it was fully consumed. I guess it’s time for ribs.
 
Gas grills are OK if you grill regularly. DD and DS-in-law use their top of the line gas grill regularly (several times a week). They find the gas grill convenient since they both work. I had a gas grill first and replaced it with a Weber charcoal kettle. We grill only occasionally and many things taste better on it. And, it will handle the occasional family gatherings. I also think the Weber needs less maintenance. Simple is really better.
 
The Prof is pretty much right on. Gas grills are all about convenience and an almost no wait start time for cooking.
 
Beer-can chicken experiement was a success. Repeat, a success. We have chicken sign!

I think we’ll be doing it again for our annual 4th of July Catholic Q! 😃
 
I find the Traeger to be very interesting in design. The tractor model is especially cool. The price for their units are out my league, but they look great.

Thanks for the link…I had never heard of a pellet design BBQ. What will they think of next? Perhaps a “fusion” unit is on the horizon?
 
Pax said:
I find the Traeger to be very interesting in design. The tractor model is especially cool. The price for their units are out my league, but they look great.

Thanks for the link…I had never heard of a pellet design BBQ. What will they think of next? Perhaps a “fusion” unit is on the horizon?
Click to expand...
The cost is a problem. I have used mine in near blizzard conditions!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top